Trespass Notices in Brief

5 November, 2019 | Nathan Tetzlaff

Anyone who occupies a property can issue a trespass notice against anyone else who might visit the property without lawful business being there.

Who can issue a trespass notice?

To issue a trespass notice it is not necessary to own the property; a renter can trespass people from their rented property.

How do you issue or serve a trespass notice?

To trespass someone from your property you only need to warn them to stay off. This can be done verbally or in writing. Once they have received notice, a person commits an offence if they remain on your property or come back to it within two years (without a lawful reason).

How do trespass notices work?

If somebody does trespass on your property you or the police can bring a case against them. If they are convicted, the maximum penalty (depending on the type of trespass) is a fine of $1,000, or 3 months’ imprisonment. These maximum penalties would only ever be imposed in the most serious cases and imprisonment almost never.

For most people the value of a trespass order is not the option of going to court and getting a conviction, but rather the fact that the police can be involved to enforce a trespass order in some cases.

NZ Police trespass notices

While trespass orders can be verbal, the police have a form for a trespass order that you may fill out, and the police may be prepared to deliver this to the trespasser. The police will keep a copy of this trespass order on file and can refer to it if needed. This means that if you call the police to complain about a person trespassing, they will have a record of the trespass notice.  The process of removing the person will probably be easier for you as the police will take care of it. Because of this we generally recommend that a trespass notice is prepared in writing and registered with the police.

If you think that you need a trespass notice against someone or have any questions about the process, contact litigation executive, Mikayla Sagar by email on mikayla.sagar@smithpartners.co.nz or by phoning 09 837 6890